Chinascope – Page 887

Air Quality Deteriorates in Large Areas in China; Public Advised to Stay Inside

Recently misty weather has covered large areas of China with a serious deterioration in air quality. The air quality in multiple metropolitan areas has been coded as “serious pollution.”

The Beijing Environmental Monitoring Center released data showing that, since Thursday night (January 10), the pm2.5 concentration has been sustained at above 300 micrograms and reached level six, which is “serious pollution.” In the most polluted area the pm2.5 index reached 456.

In nine out of 11 cities in Hebei Province, the measure of air quality has been labeled "serious pollution.” In Shijiazhuang, Handan, Xingtai, and Hengshui, the quality index even exceeded 500. Air in Wuhan City in central China was also "heavily polluted" for several days.

On Saturday January 12, China’s Central Meteorological Station issued a blue fog warning. Nine provinces, including Hebei, Tianjin, Shandong, Henan, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Hubei and Sichuan Basin, had heavy fog with visibility of less than 1000 meters. Environmental experts warned that heavy fog prevents the dispersion of air pollutants. Local governments have issued air quality warnings to the public and advised people to stay indoors. Schools have suspended outdoor physical activities.

Source: BBC Chinese, January 12, 2013

http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/chinese_news/2013/01/130112_china_air.shtml

Briefings | | January 14, 2013 | Economy/Resources

U.S. Uses Its Hegemonic Position to Gain US$7 Trillion in Dividends in 2011, Nearly Half from China

On January 8, 2013, the National Health Study Group of the Chinese Academy of Sciences issued a "National Health Report." The report declared that the U.S. gained a total of US$7.39609 trillion in dividends in 2011 as a result of its hegemonic position in the world. That amount is 96.8 percent of such dividends for the entire world. China is the biggest loser; it lost a total of US$3.6634 trillion, which is 47.9 percent of the total. The report also calculated that the dividend resulting from the U.S. hegemonic position is as high as 52.38 percent of its GDP, i.e. 52.38 percent of the U.S. GDP was obtained as a result of its hegemony. In the report, hegemonic dividend is defined as the dividend the hegemonic nation gains through directly or indirectly accruing profits through its position as a monopoly and through its established hegemonic system throughout the the world.

The report also asserted that 60 percent of Chinese laborers’ working hours were spent working for free for monopoly capital, thus creating "extra value" for them.

Source: People’s Daily, January 9, 2013
http://finance.people.com.cn/n/2013/0109/c1004-20136081.html

Briefings | | January 11, 2013 | US-China Relations

Huanqiu: Japan and U.S. Jointly Deal with China’s Surveillance of the Diaoyu Islands

China’s state media Huanqiu reported that Japan and the U.S. have reached an agreement that they would jointly cope with Chinese ships and airplanes entering the sea around the Diaoyu Islands. Japan released the news unilaterally. The report stated that the agreement was reached when Japan’s Defense Minister called on the U.S. Secretary of Defense. Japan promised that it would completely cooperate with the U.S.’s new Asia Pacific security strategy. It said that Japan views the enhancement of the Japan-U.S. alliance as an important weapon to deal with conflicts with its neighboring countries.

Source: Huanqiu, January 9, 2013 http://world.huanqiu.com/exclusive/2013-01/3463069.html

Briefings | | January 11, 2013 | US-China Relations

Beijing Police Handled Over One Million Illegal Internet Postings in 2012

According to the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, its Internet security authorities organized rounds of crackdowns on Internet related crimes in 2012 to ensure order in cyberspace.

In 2012, its Internet security department found and dealt with a total of 108 million illegal web postings, punished 1.7 million websites, and shut down 1.9 web sections that had serious problems. In addition, it cracked a total of 3,800 Internet related cases and arrested more than 4,200 suspects.

Meanwhile, the Beijing police also provided guidance for Internet users on how to resist all kinds of rumors and bad information. For example, the Beijing police sent warning messages through microblogs to 915 Internet users who committed minor offenses.

Source: Xinhua, January 6, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2013-01/06/c_114271184.htm

Briefings | | January 10, 2013 | Information/Technology

Huanqiu Editorial Tries to Nail the Southern Weekend Incident

Huanqiu (Global Times) published an editorial trying to “clarify” and put an end to the Southern Weekend incident, which started when Guangdong Propaganda Department Chief Tuo Zhen re-wrote Southern Weekend’s New Year’s editorial.

Huanqiu’s article quoted Southern Weekend’s newly posted weibo (the Chinese equivalent of twitter) denying that Tuo Zhen changed the content of the New Year’s editorial and declaring that the rumors spread on the Internet were untrue.

The article said, “In today’s socio-political reality in China, it is not possible to have the kind of "free media" those people demand. Development of all the media in China can only correspond to China’s reality; media reform must be part of China’s overall reform; the media will never become a ‘politically-exempt zone.’”

The article warned, “Some outsiders try to push individual Chinese media to engage in confrontation (with the government). They are ruining these media.”

The article concluded, “News media need to reform continually, but one thing will not change. In the grand scale, China’s news media and China’s politics must be coordinated and interactive. … China’s news media will never advance independently to a point that China’s politics cannot allow.”

Source: Huanqiu, January 7, 2013

http://opinion.huanqiu.com/editorial/2013-01/3457134.html

Briefings | | January 10, 2013 | Government/Politics

Study Times: State Enterprises Should Engage in Overseas Public Relations

Study Times published a commentary advocating that China’s centrally administered State enterprises should go international in the light of the recent global economic changes. “[These] enterprises should implement an international business strategy, step up the ‘going out’ process, actively explore overseas business, increase market share overseas, and focus on optimizing the industrial chain and value chain.” The article also stated that the allocation of resources must be based on a global expansion strategy to gradually accomplish globalization in strategy, operation, management, and culture. The commentary recommended that, in going global, State enterprises must implement measures that “through local hires, respect local customs, be immersed in the local economy, and strive to create and build a win-win situation.” The article cited the State-owned China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO) as a success in the United States. COSCO “hired U.S. public relations firms and did a good job on anti-China Congressmen. … COSCO was removed from the ‘controlled carrier’ list [by the Federal Maritime Commission] and later was even approved to make an investment in the Port of Los Angeles.”

Source: Study Times, January 7, 2013
http://www.studytimes.com.cn:9999/epaper/xxsb/html/2013/01/07/08/08_22.htm

Briefings | | January 10, 2013 | US-China Relations

The Epoch Times: Incidents of Censorship in China Offer Test of New Leadership

On January 8, 2013, the Epoch Times published an article titled, “Incidents of Censorship in China Offer Test of New Leadership.” At a December 4, 2013, political meeting, Party leader Xi Jinping said, “A country ruled by law should first be ruled by the constitution and lawful governance should be based on the constitution.” After the new year, two influential liberal publications, Southern Weekend and Yanhuang Chunqiu, published special editorials echoing Xi’s call for lawful governance based on the constitution. Both editorials were harshly censored.

In the case of Southern Weekend, provincial propaganda chief Tuo Zhen secretly re-wrote its special editorial. After the publication of the re-written editorial, the journalists from Southern Weekend went on strike. Hundreds of Chinese came to the newspaper’s offices, laying flowers and expressing solidarity with the journalists. In response, China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on January 4, 2013, that China upholds press freedom and “there is no news censorship in China.” On January 7, 2013, the Central Propaganda Department officials handed down three instructions: “It is an unbreakable basic principle that the Party governs the media; Tuo Zhen had nothing to do with the changes made to Southern Weekend’s New Year’s editorial; the incident involved hostile foreign forces.”

Source: The Epoch Times, January 8, 2013
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/china-news/cases-of-censorship-in-china-offer-test-of-new-leadership-333760.html

Briefings | | January 9, 2013 | Government/Politics

China Military Online: China’s Four Weapons to Deter the United States and Japan

On January 6, 2013, China Military Online published an article titled “China’s Four Weapons to Deter the United States and Japan.” According to the article, the U.S. and Japan find a powerful China to be shocking. It stated, (We in) China no longer “hide our capabilities and bide our time.” Below is a list of the four weapons.

The Red Flag 9 air defense missile strikes fear in the U.S. "Patriot" missile system.
As Georgetown University Professor Philip Carbonell warned, the Dongfeng -41′ intercontinental ballistic missiles are equipped with nuclear warheads, “enough to aim at a population of more than 50,000 U.S. cities and towns."
Our nuclear submarines are equipped with the JL-2 missile, a type of killing machine that only the United States used to own.
China holds the world’s leading position in quantum dot laser theory research. Our super-power solid-state laser equipment is the best in the world; it has more than 30 thousand km of effective power to destroy.

Source: China Military Online, January 7, 2013
http://jz.chinamil.com.cn/scrollnews/2013-01/07/content_5171084.htm

Briefings | | January 9, 2013 | Defense/Military

Wu Guoguang: Xi Jinping’s Reversal of the Course, Will China’s Transition be Peaceful or Marked with Bloodshed?

Cheng Xiaonong: U.S.-China Strategic Relations Have Crystallized

Xinhua Commentaries: “Exposing the Three Major Political Deficits of the U.S.”

The CCP’s Performing Arts Troupes in the U.S.